Young Writers Society

I do believe teens do know what True love is, however, I personally find it ... IRRITATING! I mean, I have a crush and I like them very much (I've liked them for 12 years) but I feel like 'unless you have a girlfriend, you're gay'. (I'm a boy). That's the kind of mentality that there is in my school - that you're so weird for not having a partner. You're automatically 'different' and homosexual. Apart from being homophobic and bad anyway, I personally feel that it's unfair because it's pressuring people to date then kiss, have sex and later leads to abortion and teenage pregnancy if you're not careful. It's not ALWAYS... but it feels like it's all around. I think it's the media and music.

9 and 10 year olds began claiming they were not virgins any more. Literally, I swear to God and you can ask any of my friends in my old school - it's all to seem 'cool' and 'in'. Personally, late teens are probably the time when to start 'dating' and finding that person, not when you're 10. It's natural to have these feelings, but sometimes common sense needs to be used and to think - OK, it's not necessary now, is it.

According to xkcd, the formula for determining the minimum age of people you can date is .5*(Your Age)+7.

But according to this, a seven year old can date a baby!

Cool your jets. While the seven year old may be a good match for the baby, the same is not true for the seven year old. The minimum age for the seven year old would be 10.5 years old.

So marking P1 and P2 as the ages of persons one and two, we get the following equations: P1=.5(P2)+7 and P2=.5(P1)+7. Both have to be true simultaneously. Therefore, we use substitution to solve:

P2=.5(.5(P2)+7)+7
P2=.25*P2+10.5
.75P2=10.5
P2=14.

Plugging back into the equation, we find that P1=.5*(14)+7. Therefore, P1=14.

So if both people are of the same age, then they can begin dating at age 14.

Suppose though that someone wanted to date a person that was a year younger than them.

We can solve this equation by making it the following: P1=.5(P2)+7. Without loss of generality, suppose that P1 is a year less than P2. This gives us the expression P1=P2-1.

Plug it in and we get P2-1=.5(P2)+7. Solving for P2, we get: P2=16. Therefore, if you want to date someone a year younger than you, then you have to wait you're 16. Using a similar process, we conclude that you need to wait until you're eighteen to date someone two years younger than you.

The general equation then is this: Your age + (their age-your age)= .5(your age)+7.

Note that nobody should think about dating before they are 14 years old, because their min dating age is always greater than their own; but they are too young for the people they are dating. Only when both are fourteen can dating really start; and that's a strict equality.

It may help prepare these youngsters for the future: When relationships can get quite serious. Besides, it's a learning experience.

I think it's fine, but sexual relationships are a little too far, not simply because it's against the law, but because someone that age is simply not ready to bring up a baby, just in case something goes wrong with contraception etc.

I'm a bit unsure about this, because most people in my year (except me) have had boyfriends/girlfriends. I think it depends on the person, as some people can make a relationship work, but my friend and her boyfriend argue nearly everyday, and have split up and got back together again a lot. I don't think a sexual relationship is necessary until the legal age to be honest, and even then I don't think it's needed.
Some people are more mature at a younger age, and some are still not emotionally ready for a relationship. Like me, I guess!